I'm from SE Texas and had a very thick accent growing up. I spent considerable effort getting rid of that accent around age 16. It's a double edged sword. I got so good at it that when I acquired a job at a newspaper in the town I was born in it caused some issues. Locals were upset about our paper hiring a girl from Indiana and another guy from Ohio. It was a very small town and the locals believed the local newspaper should be staffed by locals. When I would interview people they would get standoffish, accusing me of being a northerner, an outsider. I would tell them I could see the hospital I was born in from my office window, but they wouldn't believe me. My accent still comes out when I've had a few drinks or get tired. I've had a few people notice and think it's hysterical that I try to hide it. I too work in tech now and don't want anybody making snap judgments about me from the way I speak.